Never Forgotten Long Game
by EternalLovex
Summary: After what happened on that rooftop on New Year's and finally entering high school, the gang are stuck figuring out what to do with their lives. Maya has tough decisions to make when Josh shows up again and she's forced to deal with her feelings towards both Josh and Lucas. Juggling the obstacles of high school, love, and friendship, will she ever be able to win the long game?
1. Chapter 1

Of course change is scary. Riley, Maya, Farkle, Lucas. Zay, and Smackle are starting their first day of high school not really knowing what to expect. It's not easy entering a new atmosphere, even if it is with a group of friends.

Maya, as usual, invites herself into the Matthews' household, somewhat dreading the idea of having to go to school. She casually strolls in and plops down next to Riley at the table. "Morning, Matthews!"

"Peaches!" Riley replied with that overly enthusiastic smile of hers. "Are you excited for our first day at Abigail Adams High School?"

Maya stared at her best friend blankly. "Did you really just ask me if I was excited for school?"

"Point taken. But you must be feeling something. I mean we're finally growing up and now's our chance to actually do something with our lives." Riley looked at her father expectantly. "Right, Dad?"

Cory looked at the two young girls and smiled. "Right. Maya, I know you don't like change very much but this could be the start of something great. Not to mention, you get to have me as a teacher again!" Cory looked just a bit too happy to be going back to high school again.

"YAYYY!" Riley cheered as Maya groaned and pounded her head against the table. "Come on, Maya. We have to go or we're gonna be late."

Riley dragged Maya out of the apartment and headed towards their new school. Maya reluctantly followed behind and once they stood in front of the doors, they saw Lucas, Farkle, Zay, and Smackle walking towards them.

"Hey Riley. Hey Maya." Lucas greeted.

"Hi Lucas." Riley smiled at him.

"Huckleberry." Maya responded, not looking at any of them but rather at the sea of people walking through the doors and into the hallway. "Can I just go home?"

"No!" the rest of them chorused. Riley linked arms with Maya and pushed opened the doors where the gang looked in shock. They looked like ants compared to the other students on this campus. All the doubts Maya had earlier only got worse. If her friends weren't surrounding her, she would've bolted back home.

"Yep! It'll be great. It'll be so much fun!" Maya spat, glaring at Riley.

"Don't worry, Maya. We've only been here for like 5 minutes. I'm sure everything will be fine. Don't judge a book by its cover, remember?"

Maya groaned. "I already get enough life lessons from your dad in and out of class. Can't I just have a moment in peace?"

Maya knew that Riley was just trying to feel better, but the longer she stood there, the more nervous she became. She was Maya Penelope Hart. She doesn't get nervous. Unfortunately, change was the one exception. She feared that everything she knew, all of her friends, would suddenly be gone. She feared that they were all going to drift apart and she would lose her best friends to different high school cliques. But there was nothing she could really do about it now.

Each of them prepared for what was in store for them. All of them were nervous, but it's not like they would actually admit it. They just entered a new stage of their lives. Everything has changed and now it's time for them to face it.


	2. Chapter 2

The bell rang, pulling everyone back to reality.

"Is school over already?" Maya asked with a hopeful voice.

"No Maya. We haven't even gone to first period yet. Come on." Riley grabbed Maya's hand and pulled her into the classroom. The others followed the two girls inside. Maya sat down at her desk while her other classmates were finding their way to their seats.

"So what class are we in exactly?" Maya asked uninterested.

"History and my dad's our teacher again. Oh here he comes now." Riley turned to the front with a big goofy smile on her face.

"Good morning everyone. Welcome to your first day of high school." Everyone cheered while Maya groaned. "How does it feel?"

"Like all of my energy's been sucked out of my body," Maya deadpanned.

"What about you, Riley?"

"I'm excited. New school, new people, there's just so much more to explore."

"Yeah, Zay and I want to join the football team!" Lucas chimed in.

Maya immediately looked his way. "Why?" She was curious as to why he suddenly decided to join that sport. Sure he had that whole jock status look but it didn't mean that he needed to become the popular quarterback.

"Because it's fun."

"It's a game where everyone just tackles each other."

"It's a game of strength and skill."

"But—"

"Maya!" Riley cut in. "There must be something you're looking forward to here. What about art?"

Maya slumped back in her seat. "I don't know. It feels weird having a teacher other than Ms. Kossal." For the rest of the period, Maya sat there distracted and stopped paying attention to what was happening in the class. She was thinking about all of the possible outcomes for these next four years, especially when it comes to her friendship with the others. She shouldn't be this worried, but she can't help but wonder if their group is somehow going to break apart.

"Maya?" She looked up to see Riley and Cory standing in front of her and the classroom empty.

"Are you okay, Maya? Cory asked her despite knowing exactly how she's feeling. She hasn't been great at hiding it from anyone.

"I guess we'll see," she answered vaguely and with that, she and Riley walked out of the classroom and onto their next class.

The rest of the day wasn't too bad for them. In fact, they all seemed to be enjoying their new high school experience, even Maya. Then again, it's not saying much since everything was mostly just introducing the curriculum for the school year. Maya's time in art wasn't as terrible as she expected it to be. Though she wasn't too fond of the teacher considering how he was stricter, art was the one place where she could pour out all of her feelings. It was one of her safe havens and she just hoped that everything from this point on would be ok.


	3. Chapter 3

They survived their first day of high school and Riley, Maya, Farkle, and Lucas all went back to Riley's apartment. Maya basically ran to the couch and sprawled across it. Surprisingly, Maya got through all of her classes without causing any trouble with any of her teachers or classmates. That doesn't necessarily mean that everything will be smooth sailing for here on out though. They still have 4 more years at this place. Who knows what could happen?

"Home sweet home! I thought I'd never get out of that place! I think I've earned a well-deserved nap. Good night people." Maya placed a pillow over her head and she was out like a light. Little did she know that her day wasn't necessarily over yet.

As the other three made their way into the kitchen, Cory walked in with a huge grin on his face. "Riley! Guess what?"

"You got me a bunny?" Riley asked excitedly.

Cory gave a confused look. "No, no bunnies. Honey, you need to get over it." Riley gave a small pout before giving her father her full attention. "Your Uncle Josh is visiting."

The minute the words left his mouth, Maya immediately sprang on her feet. "What? I could've sworn I heard you say Josh was coming." Maya laughed until she realized that the others were just staring at her. "He's coming?! Thanks for the heads up, Matthews!" Cory raised his hands in exasperation.

"Of course. It's always my fault." He mumbled to himself.

As if right on cue, Josh comes through the door. "My brotha!"

"My brotha!" Cory responded before they both gave their little bro hug.

Josh made his way over to the teenagers, giving his little niece a little hug, while Maya tried her best to avoid any type of eye contact. Josh didn't realize how much he had missed his family until he finally came back to see them.

"So Uncle Josh, how come you're visiting this time? I promise Maya and I won't follow you again if you're going to another party." Josh simply laughed and Maya hid her face even more from embarrassment. In the meantime, Farkle and Lucas were watching in amusement.

"Well I decided that I would visit more frequently, possibly every weekend to start getting used to the area. Since I'm starting at NYU next year, I might as well prepare myself for it. Not to mention, it's a great way for me to spend some quality time with my brother. So I was planning on staying here on the weekends and going back to Philadelphia for school on the weekdays, if that's okay with you Cory." He looked over at Cory, hoping he wouldn't turn him down after that entire trip he made up here.

"Of course you can. Are Mom and Dad okay with it?"

"Yeah, this was actually their idea, believe it or not. I guess they just wanted the house to themselves and take a break from dealing with a teenager." Josh joked.

"Well I'm glad you're here Josh. Now I have to tell Topanga." Cory walked out of the house, leaving the group of teenagers at home.

He noticed that Lucas was looking at Maya with concern etched onto his face while she was still trying to avoid everyone and Riley stood looking at both of them awkwardly. Farkle, on the other hand, situated himself on the couch, attempting to avoid the whole mess. Josh led Riley over to the kitchen out of hearing distance. "Are those two together now? I always thought you and Howdy were a thing." He tried to lighten the mood but Riley didn't even crack a smile.

"It's complicated. Both Maya and I like Lucas and he likes both of us. We're all just trying to figure out where to go from here and what we are to each other. Not to make you feel bad, but now that you're here, I think things just got even more complicated."

"I'm still too old for her, Riley."

"She's in it for the long game, remember? Yeah, she might like Lucas now but I don't think she can just turn off her feelings for you either. I told you it was complicated."

Off to the side, Maya's pacing back and forth trying to make sense of her emotions. That one question she got from the couples game on New Year's Eve just came back to haunt her. Seeing Josh again reminded her of how much she used to like him, how much she _still_ likes him. But then she likes Lucas, too. One actually reciprocates her feelings, kind of, while the other keeps pulling the "3 years older" card on her. Too caught up in her thought process, she didn't realize Josh was walking towards her. She turned around and jumped up in shock. "UNCLE BOING!" She squeezed her eyes closed, feeling embarrassed by her sudden outburst. "I mean, Josh! How've you been?"

"I've been great. What about you? I heard there have been some things going on between you, Riley, and Lucas."

"That's an understatement," she mumbled under her breath. She could feel Josh looking at her, but she couldn't muster up the courage to look back. Riley, noticing the tension, decided to put Maya out of her misery.

"Let's go up to my room, Maya. See ya, Uncle Josh." Riley dragged Maya away before Maya even had a chance to respond. She's never been more thankful for Riley than at that moment. Both of the guys she likes were in the same room. If that doesn't define awkward, nothing does. "So?"

"So what?" Maya looked at Riley in confusion.

"So what's going on? You could barely talk to Josh out there. I know you still like him and I know you like Lucas. I also know that this is killing you inside. You can't hide from this forever, Maya."

"I don't know. I suddenly feel like I'm stuck in some kind of square instead of a triangle. I honestly wasn't planning on seeing Josh. I guess it never occurred to me that I would be stuck in this kind of situation. This isn't going to be easy, is it?"

"No, Peaches. It's not." Riley pulled Maya into a hug. As much as Maya wanted time to stop right then, she knew she had to face it sooner or later. Riley would never let the latter happen, but all Maya could do right now and try to act as normal as she can, even though everything was far from normal.


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning, Maya woke up hoping that everything was just a dream. Unfortunately, she remembered every detail way too well for it to not be reality. She sulkily made her way to Riley's place, not wanting to go through the front door in fear that she'll encounter Uncle Boing.

"You just have to remember to breathe, Maya." She stood in front of the door for a couple of minutes trying to calm down though it wasn't doing her much good. She didn't understand why it was so difficult this time for her to face him. It used to be so easy for her to tell him exactly how she was feeling, especially with that unforgettable speech about cavemen and holding hands. This time was different though. Yesterday, she couldn't even look at him, let alone carry out an actual conversation. She tried hard to repress the embarrassment, but of course the world hasn't been on her side lately.

She took a deep breath and composed herself, ready to barge in through that door like she had always done. What she hadn't done in her life was walk through the door and walk straight into what could have been a wall. Oh how much Maya wished it was a wall. She glanced up and sighed.

"Of all people, why did it have to be Josh?" Maya thought. She took a step back and attempted to plaster a smile on her face. Unfortunately that was all she could do as she stood there like a statue, not uttering a single word to the man in front of her.

"Well good morning to you too, Maya." Josh looked down at her with an amused expression. He turned back to the rest of his family at the table. "I'm going to meet up with some friends for a while. I'll see you guys later." Turning back around, he gave Maya a little wave before he moved past her to walk out of the apartment.

Riley stood up and walked up to her best friend. "Maya. Come back. Come back right now." She put her face close to Maya's and moved her head from side to side, but Maya's eyes were frozen and her smile was still locked in place. "MAYA!" Riley screamed, making her best friend come back to her senses as well as scaring the life out of Cory.

Maya took a glance over Riley's shoulder and laughed at the sight of Cory clutching his heart and Topanga trying to calm him down.

"Glad to see you're laughing!" Cory retorted.

"Sorry, Dad." Riley apologized, trying to hold in her laughter as well. She looked at Maya and remembered what she had to do. "Bay window. Bay window right now." She pulled Maya into her room despite her protests.

"Riles, we have to get to school."

"Oh when did you ever care about going to school on time?"

"I don't, but I'd rather go there than have this conversation." She was ready to stand up from the window when Riley just pulled her back down. "Can we just talk about this later? Right now, we have to get to school, listen to a bunch of lectures, and watch your dad as he attempts to give us another life lesson in the form of a history topic."

Riley was still reluctant to go without getting something out of Maya. She knew Maya was strong, but even she had some things that she wouldn't be able to fight, at least not alone.

"Riley, I promise you that I'm fine. If I'm not, then you're going to be the first one I come to." Maya looked at Riley for a second before she raised her hand. "Thunder."

Riley lifted her hand to meet Maya's. "Lightning."

"Now let's go before your parents kill us for being late."


	5. Chapter 5

Second day of school and Maya's feeling somewhat better about the whole ordeal. Art is, without a doubt, her favorite class and it's one of the reasons why she can now look forward to going to school. Avoiding Josh is just a plus side.

"Alright, Riley. I'll see you during passing period."

"Ok, Maya. I'll see you later."

They gave each other a hug and reluctantly parted ways, with Riley heading to math class and Maya heading to art. Maya walked into her classroom and sat in front of her blank canvas, ready to get started. She patiently waited for the teacher to come in and get them started on their assignment. She needed something to get her mind off of everything that's going on. Just seconds later, the art teacher, Mr. Jackson, walked in, put his bags down, and stood in the middle of the classroom.

"So today is going to be very simple. You're going to paint a picture that reflects how you feel and what's going on in your life. I want to be able to experience what you put into your painting. Have fun with it."

Maya sat there with a dumbfounded look on her face. Usually she would have no problem painting something she was familiar with but her own feelings are just a mess right now. She wouldn't even know where to start.

"Don't think so hard, Maya. Just paint," the art teacher briefly said as he passed by Maya at her seat.

Maya breathed. "Just paint." She picked up her brush and started working on her piece. Even she was anticipating what it would look like when she finished.

"Wow. This must be my best work yet." Maya stated sarcastically, just reflecting on what looks like a giant blob on a canvas.

"Would you like to tell me exactly what the story is behind this?" Mr. Jackson stood behind her, curious to hear her explanation.

"I don't know. I just painted like you told me to and I mixed a bunch of colors and now it looks like something exploded."

"Art is very interesting, Maya. Art reflects emotions. This may look like nothing on the surface, but a true artist understands the feelings that go into it. It says something about the artist and, in this case, it says a lot about you. From what I can tell from the dark colors and how everything is cluttered together, I'd say that this is a great representation of some kind of inner turmoil."

"Mr. Jackson, it's just a painting." Maya didn't understand why he was trying to analyze it so much.

"It's not and I know that you know it too. Good work today, Maya." With that, he walked away and left her to ponder her own thoughts.

"If that's the case, then I must really have one messed up life." She packed up her things, took the canvas, and continued on with the rest of her day. She can deal with this whole "inner turmoil" thing later.


	6. Chapter 6

School was finally over and Maya was still carrying that painting around when she met up with Riley, Farkle, Lucas, and Zay.

"What's that? That right there. What is that?" Zay asked, pointing at the canvas.

The rest of them stared at it, waiting for Maya's answer. It was now that she regretted not covering up the image. She tried to figure out what she could tell them without making a big deal out of it. It's not like she could say "Oh it's just a representation of my life and how it's just one dark, clumped up mess." No, that would not go well.

"I was testing out the paint. I got bored so I was mixing colors together and just splashed it on here. Don't worry about it." Maya plastered on a fake smile and hoped they wouldn't see right past it.

"Okay, if you say so." Riley said and turned back to everyone else. "So are we going back to my place?"

"Yep." They all chorused and started to walk out the doors when someone shouted out Maya's name. She turned around to see Mr. Jackson walking up to her and panicked. Well, there's no getting out of this one.

"Hey, Mr. Jackson. What's up?"

"I just wanted to see how you were doing."

"I couldn't be better." Maya tried to put on the best innocent act as she could.

"Just remember what I said about your painting. If you ever need to talk about it, feel free to stop by." He looked at the others, gave a friendly nod, and continued on his way.

In the meantime, Maya avoided eye contact with the others. "So Riley's house!" She shouted, hoping the others would let it go. She turned around and walked, only to have Riley grab her arm and pull her back.

"What was that about?" Riley looked at Maya suspiciously, trying to see if she could figure her best friend out.

"What was what about?" Maya feigned ignorance.

"What did he say about your painting?" Lucas questioned, suddenly curious about what she was really hiding.

"Nothing drastic. Look, I'll explain later. Right now, can we just get out of here?" The rest nodded in agreement and walked to Riley's apartment.

Once they got inside, they immediately surrounded Maya. She took a seat on the couch and put the painting up so everyone could see it. "This is me." Maya said nonchalantly.

"This is you." The others repeated slowly as if to try and understand the meaning behind the statement.

"Mr. Jackson wanted us to paint what we feel and this is the result. He says that it's supposed to represent my inner turmoil."

"What inner turmoil? Are you talking about this weird love triangle, not love triangle that you guys have? Or are you talking about the fact that Josh is here and you don't know how to handle it?" Farkle asked, amused at how this is all unfolding.

Zay laughed at Farkle's revelation, only to be met with Maya's glaring eyes.

"Look, I get that my life is a mess, but I'll deal with it." Maya set down the painting in front of her.

"How?" Riley questioned her, knowing the predicament she's in.

"I don't know. But I'll deal with it."

"Well you'd better do it soon because you only have a few days left before Josh shows up again and you go all crazy again." Zay retorted.


End file.
